Biomedical researchers at the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences recently completed a three-year project that studied how to better protect pregnant women in car accidents.
Partly funded by Ford, the study gathered data on tissue composition and dimensions of pregnant women and their fetuses to develop a computer-aided model of pregnant drivers and passengers that will eventually help automakers design better crash protection systems for expecting mothers.
The government doesn’t keep statistics on the number of fetal deaths that occur each year in car accidents, but the researchers estimate it could be anywhere between 300 and several thousand, roughly four times the number of children between infancy and 4 years old. Auto accidents are also the largest cause of death among pregnant women.
The researchers used CT scans to outline the dimensions of the fetus, uterus and placenta at 30 weeks and tested the effects of different levels of force on uterine and placental tissue samples, so they can devise more accurate simulations of how crashes affect the bodies of pregnant women. Researchers hope to develop crash test dummies that can simulate a pregnancy.
It will take several years before the research actually creates any changes in safety systems, but Ford plans to include instructions for pregnant women in the safety manuals of its 2011 vehicles, with information based on guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Until then, pregnant women are still advised to wear their shoulder and lap belts properly and avoid shifting the lap belt from the pelvis to higher on the abdomen.
